The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry and the Publicity Secretary, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, have commended President Bola Tinubu for suspending the implementation of 15% ad-valorem tariff on imported petrol and diesel.

They spoke in separate interviews with Sunday Telegraph yesterday. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in a statement via the agency’s official X (Twitter) handle signed by the agency’s Director of Public Affairs, NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, had on Thursday, announced the cancellation of the 15 per cent import tariff.

Gillis-Harry said the suspension was a welcome development and signified that Tinubu is a listening President. He noted that PETROAN had expressed concerns over the tariff. Gillis-Harry said: “We are full of praise for the President for listening to the cries and the concerns of the people.

As industry players, I had said that we are not able to make any arm-chair projections on the tariff until we would put the suggested tariff to the test and see how it operates, whether there’s going to be something positive or something negative out of it.

And then, of course, we also looked at the brighter side of town, where tariffs such as this, not up to this volume, can be an attraction for investors and the refining subsector to come in, which definitely will make Nigeria a hub for refined products and therefore become a foremost job creator in the sector because that sector is very labour intensive.

“But as it is today, the President has approved for this to be suspended. The suspension will give opportunity for real concerns of Nigerians by the President.

That is a very welcome idea to us.” Speaking for IPMAN, Ukadike said: “IPMAN has lauded Mr. President for listening to the cries of the masses by suspending the tariff. Abinitio, I had said that this is a deregulated economy.

There is supposed to be competition between import and export as far as this country is concerned. “The 15% tariff is a direct tax on Nigerians because it was going to kick-start or erupt galloping inflation because it is indirectly the consumers or users that will pay for it. Marketers thank Mr. President.

We also say that the market should be allowed to be open. The forces of demand and supply should apply in price modulation.

You can not put the horse before the cart. That is the position of IPMAN. “We have also noticed that within this period of the tariff suspension, prices of petroleum products have started falling and the prices of goods and services have also started reducing gradually.

I hope I will also get there and we believe that competition drives excellence and excellence drives good prices.”